Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(1,109)
4 star:		(303)
3 star:		(231)
2 star:		(151)
1 star:		(789)

 

 

This is just an alert since there seems to be some confusion about a trilogy release with the original unaltered versions along with the special editions vs a trilogy set that only contains the special editions and no copies of the original unaltered versions.

The reviews for both sets are merged together... that is why you are seeing people claim that it has the original unaltered versions, and people complaining they do not. THIS set that I specifically clicked on to make this comment on is on the 2004 release which DOES NOT CONTAIN THE ORIGINAL UNALTERED VERSIONS. The box image is silver and has Darth Vader's mask on the box. This set ONLY contains the SE along with a 4th bonus disc of making of features and trailers and a sneak peak at episode III. If you want the trilogy set that contains both the SE and the unaltered versions but no bonus features, make sure when purchasing from Amazon, that the picture is a picture of Darth Vader and Luke clashing with light sabers and the box has a lot of blue coloring. It also says IV V VI along the bottom. Scroll down to DVD info and it should say release date: 2008. THAT is the version you are looking for.

If you place an order on the Trilogy with the Silver box with Darth Vaders mask on it, you are going to get the 2004 release of the trilogy and that's probably not the one you want... This review is going to appear on both sets though... So make sure before you buy, that you are on the correct trilogy page. Check the picture. Check the release date.

There are plenty of reviews of the actual product so I'm not going to go into that. Just wanted to clear up some confusion.

It's real simple, George. The vast majority of people who will buy the Blu-Ray versions are middle-aged nostalgia hounds. These people will NOT pony up more of their hard-earned dough for CGI "enhancements." They WILL, however, whip out their credit cards for the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL RELEASES faster than Han Solo's draw-down on Greedo.

Find your best exant print each film of the original trilogy. Have the ILM lab boys scan in every frame @ 4k. Do the LEAST amount of color correction and dust/scratch removal--only in a restoration sense, not "improving color" or anything like that. Approach it like archivists.

Use your technical advancements to do the finest BR encoding of those individual frames. I want to see film grain, dude. Matte lines. Pancake makeup. Absolutely naked and unvarnished. The final result should be a monument to the format, really.

Do the same with the audio.

If your ego won't let you "let go" of your CGI meddling, then make every feature a two-BR set--your best "improved" version + the original theatrical release. You can charge more that way, have your final vision, and still satisfy the fans who want the '77, '80. and '83 prints. And line your pockets with more filthy lucre as you sell the same product to us for the umteenth time.

Call it a "Special Edition Archivist Series" or something like that.

I am a huge fan of Star Wars. YEs, I am an 'Original Fan". And why is being an 'Original' fan percieved so negatively? If you are an original Beatles fan, the newer fans ask you with reverence what it was like seeing them in concert, etc. etc. (No, I am not fortunate enough to be an 'original' Beatles fan. I wasn't even born in 1964.) Original Star Wars fans are called oldtimers and accused of not letting go of the past and not appreciating that times change.

Mr. Rehnquist wrote in his review "I ask, who would want to see old, outdated movies in this age of advanced technology? " Well, I hope the answer is "Many People". My love of movies is not based on the level of special effects. Should we no longer watch the great old black and white films of the past because they are 'old and outdated'? No more Bogie and Bacall? No more Hepburn and Tracy? What about Gene Kelly? Jimmy Stewart?

The thing Mr. Lucas is forgetting is that more is not always better- in an interview when the movies first came out, he was quoted as saying that the problem with the Sci-Fi genre in general was that so many moviemakers forgot about the story. The movies ended up being built around the special effects.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lucas is adding all of these scenes and filming the newer movies (Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones) with nothing but the possibilities of these special effects in mind. He has lost the story; it had become secondary to the special effects.

I had no problem with the celebratory scenes added at the end of "Return of the Jedi" but I do have a problem with some of the other scenes. Han shot Greedo. Greedo did not shoot first. It is ridiculous to change this. Han's change of heart and redemption are more powerful when you know he was a mercenary! He was always looking out for himself. That's how he survived! He was in it for the money, and found himself inexplicably drawn to the people of the Rebellion. That's good story-telling.

The problem is that Mr. Lucas has taken the liberty of CHANGING much of the story with these scenes.

Mos Eisley was supposed to be a dusty, deserted town. Tatooine is on the outer rim of the galazy. It's an unimportant, dusty, underpopulated planet. What I saw in the "Special Editions" was a thriving, well-populated town.

I would happily buy the special edition versions if I knew Lucas intended on eventually releasing the original versions on DVD as well. I'd buy both.

We're not trying to erase the movies you love. If you like the "Special Editions" Great! I am glad. I would never tell any of you to shut up or that your opinions were stupid and your views outdated as we have been told by Mr. Rehnquist.

We original fans aren't telling you new fans that the version we grew up with should be the only one out there. Please have the courtesy of relizing we are only asking for the opportunity to buy these movies the way we fell in love with them.

The rumors are true about this DVD set being a "Special Special Edition". More changes have been made to the original Star Wars trilogy since 1997. Recently, many images, sounds, and even a full-length copy of Return of the Jedi have been floating around on the internet, all of which confirm the changes.

Like it or not, here are some of the major alterations:

A New Hope
1. Greedo still shoots first, but it is slightly improved.
2. Jabba the Hutt is still in the film, but has been completely redone.
3. The lightsabers have been enhanced; they are no longer white rods in certain scenes.

The Empire Strikes Back
1. Actor Ian McDiarmid now appears as The Emperor via hologram, with new dialogue and different music.
2. Actor Temuera Morrison now provides the voice of Boba Fett.

Return of the Jedi
1. Naboo has been added to the end celebration montage.
2. Actor Hayden Christensen appears as the ghost of Anakin Skywalker at the end of the film.

"Yes, these changes mean that the Star Wars films are no longer the ones you saw 20 years ago, but these brief changes hardly affect the films, and they do make sense in the overall continuity of the two trilogies. It's not like a digitized Ewan McGregor has replaced Alec Guiness's scenes"


No, but he might as well have done.

I mean that too.

To alter what i consider to be the greatest film ever made (the trilogy) just so it "meshes" with the appaling excuses for films that the new star wars films are, is something so wrong it beggars belief.

Boba fett now has a South African accent (no disrespect to SA), haan solo blatantly speaks the same lines twice in the space of a few minutes just so we can see an obviously cgi jabba make a disgrace out of himself, and worst of the worst of the worst - they changed the ending. Unforgivable.

New boy haydn christensen (what were they thinking getting this softie in to play one of the most infamous movie villains of all time????) has replaced anakin's ghost, the music has been changed and new scenes have been added showing absolutely rubbish (for want of a ruder word) cgi cities celebrating (how would they know so quickly anyway?). It's an abomination that almost made me throw the boxed set in the bin - no joke. You don't change the ending of a film, not like this, it's appalling.

Stay well away, I hate saying that cos these are my favourite films, but they've been ruined by a past-it george lucas' "vision" of what star wars should look like. They shouldn't have let him near his own material to ruin it, they really shouldn't. The george lucas of yesteryear would be turning in his proverbial grave.

Please feel free to edit this paragraph out if it's unacceptable, but the one word that sums this boxed set up perfectly is this: bastardisation.

'nuff said.

The packaging falsely states that these are "the classic films". The films being sold in this trilogy are updated versions of the "Special Editions" that were released in 1997, NOT the original theatrical classics as the packaging states. Very deceiving and shameful marketing!

The respected DVD review site, www.thedigitalbits.com, who LucasFilm allowed to review the discs early is reporting the following.....

"In all the hype over the DVD release of Star Wars, I'm afraid to say there's a bit of bad news about the discs (or at least one of them) from a quality standpoint. We've discovered what we believe are serious audio defects on Episode IV - A New Hope. We've updated our DVD review of the set accordingly with the details as follows:

[Editor's Note: since we initially wrote this review, we've detected a number of audio/mixing errors on the DVD version of A New Hope. They are as follows:

1) The familiar Force theme trumpet fanfare that used to play right after Red Leader says: "This is it!" and just as the X-wings start diving towards the Death Star's surface has been dialed back in volume so that it's almost inaudible - it's almost completely buried in the surround mix.

2) The audio quality varies wildly as Tarkin says the line: "You would prefer another target, a military target? Then name the system." - almost as if the master sound element was damaged. It's very distracting.

3) Possibly most critically, John Williams' entire score for the film has been flipped in the rear channels, so that what should be the left rear channel is playing from the right rear channel (and vise versa). What this means is that the rear channels don't match the front channels - instruments heard from the front right channel come from the left rear instead of the right rear. Again, this is very distracting once you notice it.

These problems are certainly severe enough in our opinion to merit a repressing/exchange of the disc. We're waiting to hear back from Lucasfilm on this issue and we'll update this review with the details as soon as we do.]"

"This is a vote for the original theatrical release." - if you are posting this, don't give it 5 stars. There are too many people saying that they vote for the originals but are going ahead and giving it 5 stars anyway.

The only way Lucas will ever release the theatrical versions is if product reviews are terrible and he is making no money. That is the ONLY way. It's obvious by now that he will not listen to impassioned pleas from fans. Do everyone a favor: 1 star & DO NOT BUY.

Let me start out by saying this: I am not a big Star Wars fan. I view the original trilogy as a fun, marginally entertaining adventure story. Let us not speak of the new trilogy. This review is going to be centered around the remastering, and the remastering only. We've ALL seen Star Wars.

George Lucas may not be the egomaniacal fascist the pursits who revile his changes insinuate. But he's still ruining three great movies for a quick buck. George Lucas claims that he didn't have enough money to adequately articulate his original "vision." ("Vision," rofflecopter.) Truth is, most of the alterations, besides the boatloads of CGI, are superficial and are plot-oriented. For example, when Han choppily avoids Greedo's laser, and fires back. You didn't have enough money to fund that asinine exchange, Lucas? Sure. Besides ruining Han's character and further-sugarcoating the movies in sickeningly sweet censorship, you're also insulting my intelligence. Let's not mention the occasional dubbed-over voices.

Besides those tepid, unnecessary changes... There's alot of GCI. Alot. Little CGI creatures running around doesn't make scenes seem more lively. It seems Lucas has no sense of imagination-- Out-of-place CGI raccoon monsters only accentuate the archaic nature of any special effect that wasn't tampered with. It seems cheap and plastic, just like the Star Wars universe as of late. Alot of CGI was used to add sophomoric, childish humor, cementing these films that could once capture the imaginations of all ages as mere children's movies. Changing some movies is one thing. Dulling the public's perception of art is another.

George Lucas, you are no longer relevant. If anyone was grinding their teeth while skimming through this miniscule review, feel free to lynch me with "no" votes. Each click is a personal bombardment to my self-esteem, and $500 worth of therapy.
- Thus says the Pellington

I can't believe that after all of the wait, the version released have been changed AGAIN! Why can't Lucas just let the movies speak for themselves and give the fans what we want - the ORIGINAL's!????!?!?!